> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://werd.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Picking a great password
- URL: https://werd.io/picking-a-great-password/
- Published: 2012-12-02T22:56:16.000Z
- Updated: 2025-06-12T11:00:38.000Z
- Author: Ben Werdmuller
- Tags: General, #ben-684a32da145d7d001be71dae, passwords, security, #Migrated-1749693130536, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-06-11 21:52

I was trying to find a simple, brief guide to picking great passwords, and came up short. Hopefully this simple advice is useful:

1. [Don't pick a password; pick a pass *phrase*](http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2005/07/passwords-vs-pass-phrases.html).
2. [Include letters of both cases, numbers, and punctuation characters.](http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc875839.aspx) For bonus points, use "special" characters like é and î.
3. [Don't pick something you'll have to write down to remember.](http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2005/08/passphrase-evangelism.html) Never write down a password.
4. *Try* not to use the same password for multiple sites.

Some examples of passwords I might use (you'll have to think of new ones; each line is a single password):

- "B0w T!es ar€ Coo7."
- 'Th3re 4re W0rlds 0ut there where the Sky 1s burn1ng, 4nd th3 S3a's 4sleep, 4nd th3 R1vers dr3am.'
- "!€xtermin8" "D3le7e!" "Dok-torr"

Letter substitutions like I've done above *are not secure for single word passwords*. Don't rely on them! And they're kind of fiddly anyway, so if the punctuation in the phrases above is too much, you could even simplify them:

- "Bow Ties are Cool!!"
- 'There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream.'
- "Exterminate!" 'Delete!' "Dok-torr"

And if you really, really *must* record your passwords somewhere, the only solution I recommend is [1password](https://agilebits.com/onepassword). But I'd recommend not doing it.